Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said Nigerians are justified in seeking international assistance to tackle the country’s worsening insecurity, insisting that the Federal Government has failed to protect its citizens.
Speaking at the Plateau State Unity Christmas Carol and Praise Festival in Jos, Obasanjo condemned ongoing negotiations with bandits, arguing that Nigeria should instead take firm action and leverage modern technology to confront terrorists.
His remarks come amid a surge in abductions and attacks across the North. In recent weeks, 315 students and 13 teachers were taken from St Mary’s Catholic School, Papiri, Niger State; 26 schoolgirls were abducted in Kebbi; and 24 farmers, including pregnant women, were seized in Niger State’s Shiroro area. Separate attacks in Kano and Kwara also left about 20 people kidnapped.
Obasanjo criticised the government’s response, saying: “We Nigerians are being killed, and our government seems incapable of protecting us. If our government cannot do it, we have the right to call on the international community to do for us what our government cannot.”
He added that Nigeria now has the technological capacity—such as drones—to identify and neutralise terrorists, and questioned why authorities continue to negotiate with criminal elements instead of acting decisively.
